Visit? Get sailing

In a recent Sunset Magazine, they mentioned that the 2013 34th America's Cup will be held off the coast of San Francisco.  They have a feature that goes through some of the basics of what to expect as well

In the following link, they have listings on where to sail.  Their favorite charter companies include:

• Aloha Yacht Charters, San Diego
• Marina Sailing, Long Beach and Newport Beach
• Sail Channel Islands, Oxnard
• Sail San Diego, San Diego

Click here to go to Sunset. com to read more about how to get started sailing as well as find places in Seattle, northern and southern California to sail.


To see how you can support me, click here.

Visit? Sunset Magazine - Secret Park Escapes

Some of these will be quite a drive from southern California, but can be included if you are willing to drive further.

In a recent Sunset Magazine article (still receiving for free) they talked about how to find Secret Park Escapes.  They outlined their three strategies to "outsmart" the crowds.  They include:

1. Finding the gems
2. Using the backdoor to the big guns
3. Explore north of the border (Canada)

Their top pics include:

• Capitol Reef, UT (Golden Throne Trail, Hickman Bridge Trail)
• North Cascades, WA (Sourdough Mountain Trail)
• Great Basin, NV (Lexington Arch Trail)
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO (North Vista Trail)
• Crater Lake, OR (West Rim Trail)
• Last-minute campsite in Yosemite (Camp 4 or Tamarack Flat)
• Yellowstone (Grant Village)
• Zion Canyon Scenic Drive (Kolob Canyons and Timber Creek Overlook Trail)
• Kootenay, southeast British Columbia (Kootenay's STanley Glacier Trail)

To see how you can support me, click here.

Sunset Magazine - Think Inside the Box

Yeah.  I am way behind in blogging here.  Have been busy with pictures on my Photoblog.

In a recent Sunset magazine (still receiving for free), there was an article about thinking "Inside the box" where a firm called HyBrid Architecture, designed a 192-square-foot container to be converted into a small home.

The company website has designs for larger homes as well as commercial buildings made out of containers.

To view more information, click on the following related websites:

• HyBrid Architecture:  cargotecture.com
• c192 Nomad 2011 Sunset Magazine Idea House

To see how you can support me, click here.

Visit? Set your sights on Point Loma

If you have been following this blog, you know that I receive some magazines for free.  One of them is Sunset Magazine.  In the September 2011 issue's "Weekend escape" section, there was a feature on visiting Point Loma for the weekend.

Here are their "six reasons" to visit Point Loma

1. Take in the city.  At J World San Diego on Facebook, a sailing school
2. The meal you've been waiting for. They recommend a restaurant called Sessions Public
3. Hook a Halibut.  You can rent a pole a fish for halibut at Sharkey's at Shelter Island Pier.  You can also rent kayaks there too, but their website did not describe this.
4. Concerts on the water.  The Humphreys Concerts by the Bay has concerts all year-round.  You can check their schedule at-a-glance here. 
5. A Jewel of a Hotel.  There are only 23 rooms at the Pearl Hotel.  This hotel is only one block away from the bay.
6. Your Screensaver Views.   You can see the San Diego skyline from the Old Point Loma Lighthouse in Cabrillo National Monument or grab a window seat at the Bali Hai Restaurant.

To read more, click below:

• Set your sights on Point Loma on Sunset.com

National Park Free Days

In the most recent Sunset Magazine, it reminds us that every national park offers free admission on the following days:

• June 21 (first day ofsummer)
• National Public Lands Day (September 24)
• Veterans Day weekend (November 11 through 13)

To subscribe to Sunset magazine:

Visit? Orange County Great Park

Here's another tip from Sunset Magazine.  There will be 1,347 acres of lakes, gardens, trails, museums, and an amphitheater.

They say that there are free balloon and carousel rides Thursday through Sunday.  For more information: www.ocgp.org

To subscribe to Sunset Magazine for 1 year, click below:

Visit? Limestone Canyon

I posted Limestone Canyon and Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park on this earlier post.

There is another website that has lists activites related to the Irvine Ranch Open Space: http://www.irlandmarks.org/activities/

I also got this tip from Sunset Magazine which you can get a 1-year subscription here:

Use recycled toilets and tubs that are turned into tile?

This is nice.  This company, Fireclay Tile, was featured in the March 2011 Sunset Magazine as an example of extreme recycling.  They recycle toilets and tubs to create tile.

If you are in the market for a tile job, look at their website: http://www.fireclaytile.com/

To subscribe to Sunset Magazine, click below:

Visit? Sunset: Chasing Spring: a guide for 2011

I guess this is a sneak peak at the March 2011 Sunset Magazine issue of things to do in Spring.  On their website it still shows February as their "current" issue at the time of this post.

They list 20 things that can be done. They include the following:

• Shell Creek Road in Santa Margarita (San Luis Obispo)
• Anza-Borrego State Park with 3 and 6-mile hikes 
• Multnomah Falls (Portland)
• Superstition Mountains (Phoenix)
• Grand Falls (Flagstaff)
• Chambers Creek Park (Tacoma)
• Bites by Bike tour (Portland)
• Feather Falls (Sacramento)
• Bright Angel Bicycles (Grand Canyon)
• Superstition Farm (Mesa, AZ)
• Agritopia (Gilbert near Phoenix)
• Queen Creek (near Phoenix)
• Colorado National Monument (Grand Junction)
• Campovida (Hopland)
• Capay Valley 
• Cherry Blossom Festival at Descanso Gardens (Pasadena)
• Poppy Reserve (see my previous post from April 2010)
• SOMA Get Fit (Santa Barbara)
• Living Desert (search both of my blogs by searching for "Living Desert")
• Baron Ranch Trail (near Santa Barbara)

Although I have been trying to concentrate on places to "visit" near southern California, there are multiple opportunities in the above list.  

Click here to go to Sunset.com's current issue.  This list was from the March 2011.

Click here to subscribe to Sunset Magazine

Sunset Magazine - Zero-waste home

Interesting.  The January 2011 Sunset Magazine had an article about a family in Northern California.

Even thought it is not absolutely "zero-waste" but they are nearly zero-waste.  It is always important to balance "needs" and "wants" and this is a reminder that simpler is better and that having more "things" is not necessarily important or needed.

Click here to read the on-line version of this article.

Sunset Magazine - 30 Vegetarian recipes

I still am getting Sunset Magazine for free (I am not sure how long that will last).  In the December 2010 issue, there was a link for vegetarian recipes.  If you are interested, click here.

Sunset Magazine - 10 hideaways that press "pause"

I also am getting Sunset Magazine and in a recent issue there were 10 places that press the "pause" button in our lives. Sometimes it is so very hard to really get away from everything.

Click here to be taken to the online article.  The 10 places are as follows:

• The View Hotel at Monument Valley, AZ
• Sacred Sands at Joshua Tree, CA
• Hotelito Desconocido at Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
• Spooner Lake at Lake Tahoe, NV
• Hacienda Corona de Guevavi near Tubac, AZ
• Rolling Huts at Methow Valley, WA
• Never Summer Nordic near Walden, CO
• Mt. Hood Bed and Breakfast at Mt. Hood, OR
• Mar Vista Cottages at Mendocino Coast, CA
• Bamboo Retreats at Los Angeles, CA

Visit? Dana Point Bluff Top Trail

If you have been reading my blog, you can see that I am scheduled to receive Sunset Magazine through December 2010.

In a recent issue, there was an "Editor's Pick" with Dana Point as a place to "Walk off the Turkey"

Click here to be taken to Dana Point's site and additional information.

To subscribe to Sunset Magazine for 1-year with auto-renewal, click here.

A Scenic Day in Yosemite

This is also from Sunset Magazine.  I am just trying to get through the most recent issue so it can be recycled (and out of the office).  No link available here.  I like it because it tries to give you some high-yield places to visit at Yosemite National Park.

You'll need to get an issue if you want the details, but here they are:

• 6 AM Sunrise at Slaughterhouse Meadow
• 8 AM to Mirror Lake Junction
• 9 AM Breakfast at Ahwahnee Hotel's brunch (or simple breakfast)
• 10 AM to El Capitan Picnic area.  Consider a stop at Yosemite Mountaineering School
• 11 AM to Yosemite Falls
• Noon Lunch at the Yosemite Village Store and shuttle to Happy Isles
• 1 PM Waterfalls:  Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall.
• 5 PM Ice cream at Curry Village Ice Cream Corner
• 6 PM Tunnel View Overlook

Options to stay:

• Ahwahnee Hotel (from $470!)
• Curry Village
• Wawona Hotel
• Yosemite Lodge at the Falls

Park entry is $20 per vehicle which is good for 7 days.

The official website also has a page on planning your visit along with some videos.

I am still getting Sunset Magazine for free and if I read the label correctly, it will be for many more months to come.  I like it so far and am slightly tempted to subscribe since it gives some great ideas for getaways.  Not all of the features or on their website, so you can't rely on accessing the material over the internet.

If you are interested in subscribing to Sunset magazine, you can do so with the following links for 1 year or 2 years.

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Update:  When I originally posted this information, I could not find the on-line version.  I later found it and you can find it by clicking here.

Living in Limited Spaces

In the most recent issue of Sunset, there were two brief pieces about living in limited spaces.

The first was about a landscape architect, Andreas Stavropaoulos, who lives in a 1959 Airstream trailer (all 15 x 7 feet of it). He tows his mobile office to his worksite.  The trailer has a Kyocera KD mounted to power is iMac. For more information and pictures, click here.

The next story was about a family of four that moved onto a 1,000 square foot house boat on California's Richardson Bay.  To read about this family and see pictures of what they are doing, click here.

If you are interested, you can subscribe to Sunset Magazine for either 1 year or 2 years.

Visit? Bandelier National Monument

This is also a place to go that was featured for "Families" in the most recent Sunset Magazine issue.

It is near Los Alamos, New Mexico and features a couple of hikes that go around waterfalls and some excavation sites.

This sounds like a really interesting place to visit with not too serious hiking to see everything.  There are some renovations being done to the Visitor's center, but it looks like the hiking trails will continue to be open.

Related sites:

• Click here for the main website to Bandelier National Monument.
• Click here for things to do (short hikes, etc).
• Click here to subscribe to Sunset Magazine for 1 year or 2 years.

Visit? Lake Powell in Utah and Arizona

Got another issue of Sunset Magazine and taking a quick breeze through.

One of the possible trips is to Wahweap Campground at Glen Park National Recreation area.  Their website says they have a combination of sites with full hookups, non-hookups, and group site.

Watercraft rental information can be found on this web page.  It looks like boats are close to $600 per day and kayaks start at $46 per day.

Houseboats are rented anywhere from about $2,000 to $12,000 per week.  Click here to view those rates and features.

If you would rather stay in a building, there are three types of housing, but only one is designated as "family."  You can view it by clicking here.

Click here to view books and maps available on Amazon.com.

Click here to subscribe to Sunset Magazine for 1 year or 2 years.

Visit? Darwin Falls in Death Valley

Among the magazines I am receiving for free is "Sunset."  They have some recommendations for April. 

One of them is Darwin Falls in Death Valley off of State Highway 190. This stands out for me because I have never been to Death Valley and would like to go at some point.  The visit times are probably limited due to the extreme heat during the summer time.

Click here to support me and subscribe to Sunset Magazine for 1 year or 2 years

Related websites:

• National Park Service's Death Valley website (Planning your visit)
• Wikipedia entry on Darwin Falls